Triggers in sport and their importance

Whether you accept the fact or not, most of us put up psychological barriers that interfere with performance and enjoyment of our participation in our sports.   The increased stress of competitions in order to achieve and to increase our earning potential and rankings in our sport can negatively affect our sporting performance.

This is an area we call ‘’competitive anxiety” so we need to incorporate techniques that athletes can use to retain focus in competitive situations to optimize performance. Once learned these techniques allow the athletes to relax and focus attention in a positive manner on the task in hand.

Concentration, Confidence, Commitment and Control are known as the 4 Cs and are generally considered to be the main qualities for successful performance in sport. Confidence is the ability to maintain focus. Confidence is the belief one has in those abilities. Control is the ability to maintain emotional control regardless of distraction. Commitment is the ability to continue to work towards those agreed goals.

The demand for Concentration varies with the sport. Sustained Concentration is required in distance running, cycling, tennis and squash.  Short bursts of Concentration are required for cricket, golf, shooting and athletic field events. Intensive concentration is required for sprinting events, bob sleigh, skiing.

Common distractions are anxiety, errors, fatigue, weather, coaches, mentors, family, and negative thoughts. For each of these distractions the athlete can develop a Trigger word, which is a word that instantly refocuses the athlete’s concentration and focus. . Athletes can develop a routine that may include the night prior to the event, the morning or the only the minutes prior to competing. If these routines are structured correctly they can prove to be an excellent Resource for enhanced performance.

The Trigger cannot be imposed by the coach or anyone else other than the athlete. It can be a word such as “Relax “ or “ Focus” said by the athlete to the athlete and at the same time taking a physical action such as pulling the strings of a Racket. The result is that all negative thoughts and indeed all thoughts other than the single positive thought are and indeed all thoughts other than the single positive thought are removed.

This is a proven technique used by all of the successful elite athletes and should be adopted by anyone who is not familiar with it